Crooked Tree Parent Says Students are Struggling to get to School

Students in Crooked Tree Village are having a tough time getting to school. Last week, during our extensive coverage of the flooding across Belize caused by Tropical Storm Sara, we showed you how residents had to use boats to get in and out of the village. This week, the struggle continues, and it’s the students who are feeling it the most. Today, we spoke with Steve Anthony Perriott, a Crooked Tree resident and parent of a student at Edward P. York High School. He shared his hopes for his child and all the other students in the community.

 

Steve Anthony Perriott, Resident, Crooked Tree

“It’s just getting around the village around the village. It’s the idea that life stops for us, literally, when we have to get Coast Guard and BDF to come into the village. First of all, we want to say enough respect and thank you to the Coast Guard and to the BDF for coming every time. Respect to the MIDH too, because they raised the road up to five feet in some places. And even with the road raised, the water is like two and a half feet in some places above the road. The reason why that is because we have two small bridges.  Sixteen feet of opening to flush out this whole lagoon. That’s not enough. It’s a half a mile lagoon, so we need a better drainage for the lagoon. What happened is that I heard the chairman mention that, is it, what’s the place back there? New River or something? That could be a drainage for crooked tree but that’s blocked. So what he’s proposing is that we dig a channel so that could help drain crooked tree. Because the road is higher, the water come in even more, into the village. Normally, before the road was raised, when the water got to a level, the Audubon building used to be the place for the Coast Guard and the BDF. Now what we find out is that, because the roads, the road has been raised, when the flood come, the water come in all the way to the Baptist Church. So now, that should be designated. for the BDF and Coast Guard in times of emergency.  The next thing is with the kids.  These kids have to get up at three o’clock every morning. They have to get out there four thirty to try to get a boat. There’s like sixty kids at least. Now, a boat carries twenty. One carry eight and one carry six.  And for a few days, you know, the kids have been missing the boat. I believe the chairman along with the Coast Guard and the BDF, they worked out something so that the kids are getting there on time. But the problem is they shouldn’t even have to go to school in any of the rural areas or any place that have flooding like this. The kids should be getting home schooling, you know, because if you get up at three o’clock by the time you get to school, you know, you’re in no way for one to learn.”